A British woman thought to have been murdered in South Africa has been described as a "wonderful lady" and "very kind".

Christine Robinson, 59, who had been living in the country for about 10 years, is believed to have been found stabbed to death and robbed at her safari lodge.

Her body was discovered on Wednesday in her bedroom in Limpopo, near Thabazimbi, 150 miles north-west of Johannesburg.

The wages she had just withdrawn to pay staff were missing, according to a family spokesman.

Mrs Robinson, a former primary school teacher who was originally from Liverpool, jointly owned the lodge with her husband, Robbie, who died from cancer two years ago.

Image Caption:Ms Robinson's body ws found in her bedoom near Thabazimbi, Limpopo

Her niece Lehanne Sergison, 43, from Bickley, Kent, said friends and relatives were "heartbroken".

She said the Foreign Office confirmed there was a suspect but he could have "fled" to Zimbabwe.

She said of her aunt: "She was wonderful, she really was a wonderful lady. Very kind, humble woman. It's hard to express how wonderful she is.

"Christine was the most wonderful woman anyone could wish to meet, a warm, cheerful, compassionate, kind-hearted and very popular human being, who enriched the lives of everyone she met.

"She was also bubbly and full of fun. She was adventurous, too, and travelled the world - Europe, the Middle East and China - teaching English to foreign children in international schools."

Ms Sergison added: "We know very little (about the incident). She was murdered on Wednesday. We haven't had much joy out of the police in South Africa, so we don't really know anything more than that."

She also said her aunt treated her employees "as family".

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We were notified of the death of a British national on July 30 in South Africa. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time."